Wednesday, 27 August 2014

Books to look forward to from Allison & Busby

By
July 1914, the ties between Kezia Marchant and Thea Brissenden, friends since
girlhood, have become strained - by Thea's passionate embrace of women's
suffrage, and by the imminent marriage of Kezia to Thea's brother, Tom, who
runs the family farm. Yet when Tom enlists to fight for his country and Thea is
drawn reluctantly onto the battlefield, the farm becomes Kezia's
responsibility. Each must find a way to endure the ensuing cataclysm and
turmoil. As Tom marches to the front lines, and Kezia battles to keep her
ordered life from unravelling, they hide their despair in letters and cards
filled with stories woven to bring comfort. But will well-intended lies and
self-deception be of use when they come face to face with the enemy.The
Care and Management of Lies is by Jacqueline Winspear and was published in
July 2014.

Crooked Herring is by L C Tyler and is
due to be published in September 2014.Ethelred
Tressider, mid-list crime writer, is surprised when fellow author Henry Holiday
unexpectedly turns up on his doorstep. He's even more surprised when Henry
confesses that he may have committed murder while drunk on New Year's Eve.
Though he has little recollection of the night, Henry fears he may have killed
drinking companion and fellow crime writer Crispin Vynall, and asks Ethelred to
discreetly make enquiries in order to discover the truth. As Ethelred and his
trusty agent Elsie begin to investigate, they discover that Henry has been set
up, and now all that remains is for them to find out why and, more importantly
...whodunnit?

The Coniston Case is the third book in
the Lake District series by Rebecca Tope and was published in July 2014.Valentine's Day is fast approaching and
Persimmon 'Simmy' Brown's flower shop near Lake Windermere is doing good business.
But when Simmy receives a string of anonymous delivery orders, each one causing
their recipient great distress, she begins to suspect that the messages they
contain mask a sinister intent. When one of the recipients disappears, it would
seem that her worst fears have been confirmed. As if that isn't enough, Simmy's
friend Kathy turns up, on the trail of her wayward daughter Joanna, who she
fears has grown unhealthily close to one of her university tutors. When Kathy
attempts to reason with her daughter she finds that Joanna's older lover may be
even more menacing than she had imagined. With both Kathy and Joanna in peril,
Simmy and her friends find themselves caught up in a web of deception,
blackmail and murder. It seems that Simmy Brown faces her most puzzling, and
perhaps her most dangerous, case yet.

Eva
Jackson is Rosemary's cousin ( 'umpteen times removed' ) and she has moved back
to her childhood home in Taviscombe after the untimely death of her beloved
husband Alan. As is the way of the village, Eva has been pounced upon by the
local charities, and it is during a coffee morning that she mentions to Sheila
Malory that she fears Alan might have died an unnatural death ...Sheila is
intrigued and sets out to find out more. But when Eva's body is discovered
after a supposed insulin overdose, Sheila wonders if the killer might still be
at large in the charming Devon countryside ...Death is a Word is by Hazel
Holt and is due to be published in September 2014.

Twenty-two
brand new short stories which are guaranteed to delight fans and win the author
many more. The indefatigable detective Inspector Sloan reappears in many of
these stories with his sidekick Crosby. But there are also new characters to be
met, such as the mysterious Malcolm Venables of the Secret Service. Full of
delicious twists and turns, Last Writes will be a collection to curl up with
and savour.Last Writes is by Catherine Aird and was published in July 2014.

Amory
Ames is a wealthy young woman who regrets her marriage to her notoriously charming
playboy husband, Milo.Looking for a
change, she accepts a request for help from her former fiance, Gil Trent, to
stay at the Brightwell Hotel in Devon and help circumvent his sister’s marriage
toa disreputable ladies’ man Rupert Howe. When the groom-to-be is murdered and
Gill arrested for the crime, Amory is embroiled in the investigation not
knowing that will test not only her friendship with Gil, but will upset the
status quo with her husband and she must catch the killer beforeshe becomes a victim herself.Murder at the Brightwell is by Ashley Weaver
and is due to be published in October 2014.

Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Tangled Web is
by Michael Bond and was published in July 2014.When Monsieur Pamplemousse is summoned into the head office of Le Guide
by the director, Henri Leclercq, he is unaware of the chaos that is about to
erupt. Accompanied by his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites, Pamplemousse
attempts to solve Leclercq's plaintive conundrums - all of which relate back to
his mobster uncle-in-law. The crime-solving duo gallivant around Paris and
become tangled up in seemingly arbitrary problems; a letter about a juicy steak
horrifyingly turned into a brisket; a dead restaurant owner; a giant truffle
delivered by post and the imminent arrival of the vivacious Caterina, the
mobster's niece.With all these obstacles at hand, Pamplemousse attempts to
unravel each dilemma but it quickly proves impossible as they overlap and
tangle at every turn. As he battles with this confounding case, it becomes
apparent that these events are much more sinister and inextricably linked than
first thought ...

In
June 1916, a young woman is found murdered in a cinema. Harvery Marmion and Joe
Keedy set out to find the killer who so elusively fled in the dark. Before
long, two more victims, of striking similarity but differing backgrounds, are
found dead around the city.Meanwhile,
miles from home, Marmion s son Paul prepares for life on the front line as he
marches towards the Battle of the Somme. Suffering a vicious blow in No Man s
Land, Paul is left blinded for the rest of his life. Marmion must come to terms
with the permanent darkness of his son s life, while continuing to search for
the brutal killer who only strikes in the dark."Deeds
of Darkness is the fourth book in the Home Front Detective series by Edward
Marston and is due to be published in October 2014.

The Balmoral Incident is by Alanna
Knight and is due to be published in October 2014.Rose McQuinn is invited to stay with her
friend Olive who has a small cottage on the Balmoral Estate. As Rose travels on
the train with her trusty dog Vane and her niece Mabel, she wonders what
exciting adventures await them at the Royal household. Little does she realise
that within just 48 hours of their arrival, death will have visited the great
castle ...can Rose find out what happened and prevent any more bloodshed?